The Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting ecosystems and the people and wildlife that depend on them by transforming land-use practices, business practices, and consumer behavior. Companies, cooperatives and landowners that participate in our programs meet rigorous standards that conserve biodiversity and provide sustainable livelihoods.

The Rainforest Alliance’s climate program works to conserve biodiversity and enhance livelihoods by supporting sustainable land management practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The climate program is cross-divisional, involving activities of the sustainable forestry, agriculture and tourism programs of the Rainforest Alliance. It works with a wide range of stakeholders, from small producers to large corporations to governments.

The Rainforest Alliance is in the third year of a project (“Climate Change, Conservation, and Carbon Offsets in Southeast Asia”) that aims to foster learning, experience, and development of credible carbon forestry projects, as one of the means to address climate change, in three countries (Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia) relevant to the business of project sponsor IKEA.Due to the important role of forests in climate change as sources of greenhouse gas emissions and as carbon sequestration “sinks,” this project seeks to support the generation of carbon credits from forests. To do so, the project it focuses on building capacity amongst the actors that may be able to create carbon credits.In the project, tools, methodologies, and standards to help bring carbon forestry projects to the market are tested and, as necessary, developed. The project emphasizes the contribution of small and medium sized enterprises but also provides encouragement of opportunities for larger scale managers.

Summary

Building on Rainforest Alliance’s established network, and in close coordination with Climate Program as well as Forestry Division (TREES and SmartWood), the Consultant will coordinate the implementation of activities that lead to the generation of forest carbon projects, including supporting community-based forest enterprises in enhanced forest management that serves as the basis for such projects. Activities will be focused in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Tasks

Consultant will coordinate and implement activities of the Climate Change, Conservation, and Carbon Offsets in Southeast Asia project by carrying out the following tasks:

Work with existing Rainforest Alliance partners to identify opportunities to provide support to state forestry enterprises (SFE) in Vietnam that wish to explore the potential of forest carbon projects, particularly those SFEs that will involve local communities in forestry activities.

Identify local forest management and technical assistance partners that can provide assistance to SFE projects so that the SFEs can quantify in a scientifically credible way the success of their efforts at reforestation, agroforestry and forest rehabilitation in terms of carbon sequestration, with an aim toward moving to the development of carbon projects in the future.

Provide capacity building on forest carbon validation and verification, as well as standards, in association with ongoing training efforts.

Inventory existing tools for evaluating carbon stocks for reforestation, agroforestry and natural forest rehabilitation and adapt them as necessary for use in forest management and carbon project development in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Represent the Rainforest Alliance in facilitating the use of the REDD+ Social and Environmental Standards in Vietnam.

Other

Assist with the preparation of a mid-year report for the project sponsor, Ikea.

Timeframe and Compensation:

For satisfactory performance of the Service, the Rainforest Alliance will pay Consultant a daily rate (commensurate with Consultant’s experience) for a maximum of 15 days per month. The consultancy will cover 9 months, starting on January 30 2010 and ending on October 28 2010.

Deliverables:

Consultancy strategy and work plan (to be developed in coordination with the Climate Program) – February 4 2011

High level of familiarity with regional and international development and forestry market trends, programs, organizations and funders in the forestry and conservation arena in Southeast Asia, with experience with carbon markets and REDD a plus.

High level of organizational and managerial ability.

Ability to take initiative and work independently as well as in a team.